Energy policy simulation in times of crisis: Revisiting the impact of renewable and non-renewable energy production on environmental quality in Germany

In this paper, we examine for the first time in the literature the implications of energy policy alternatives for Germany considering the aftermath of coronavirus as well as Electricity and Gas energy supply shortages. Whilst several policy options are open to the government, the choice of investment in renewable energy generation versus disinvestment in non-renewable energy such as coal energy generation provides divergent impacts in the long term. We utilize data from British Petroleum and the World Bank Development Indicator database for Germany covering 1981 to 2020 to explore a Carbon function by applying a battery of Autoregressive distributed lag model (ARDL), dynamic ARDL and Kernel-Based Regularized Least squares approaches. The particular policy tested is the pledge by Germany to decrease emissions by ∼100% in 2050, and this was integrated through the estimation of dynamic ARDL estimation. The simulation result shows that a ＋61% shock in renewable energy production decreases carbon emissions unlike coal energy production which increases carbon emissions in the beginning but the carbon emissions decrease thereafter. The findings highlight the inevitability of cutting down on coal production, and recommends energy investment alternatives. Hence, Germany's energy policy should contemplate more thoroughly on these factors. © 2023 The Author(s)

Gas Crisis in the European Commodity Market: Roots and Opportunities to Overcome

Since the beginning of 2021, world energy prices have been rapidly increasing, reaching such a high level that entire industries, small and medium-sized enterprises became uncompetitive, while retail electricity consumers became insolvent. The European Union energy policy, now focused on the development of alternative energy sources, contributed to a decline in profitability of fossil fuel used for electricity generation. The present paper examines the roots of the current economic crisis in the European market and opportunities to overcome it. To this end, the following objectives were set: to assess existing and alternative gas supply to the European market, to consider the link between existing gas contracts and spot prices. According to the conducted analysis, the lack of new liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities due to a decrease in investment in the context of energy price reduction and the COVID-19 spread is the main constraint to the expansion of alternative gas supply to Europe in the medium term (2022–2030). The study revealed that a sharp transition of industries and households to the use of renewable energy sources has become one of the reasons for current crisis. Electricity generation from renewables nowadays cannot catch up with the demand for energy that can be produced by coal, gas and nuclear power plants. Further research directions include assessment of the probability of a transition from the seller's market to the buyer's market. © 2022 Authors. All rights reserved.

Effects of globalization, energy consumption and ICT on health status in Australia: the role of financial development and education.

BACKGROUND: The outbreak of COVID-19 has alerted governments around the world, including Australia, to think seriously about the health issues. Life expectancy is one of such issues. Therefore, this study tries to reveal the effects of globalization, energy consumption, information and communication technology, financial development, education rate, and economic growth on life expectancy at birth in Australia. METHODS: Using the data period of 1990-2018, a series of econometric techniques: the Dickey-Fuller generalized least square test, Autoregressive Distributive Lag bounds test, fully modified ordinary least square method and the pairwise Granger causality test, are applied. RESULTS: The findings disclose that globalization, renewable energy use, information and communication technology, per capita gross domestic product, education rate, and financial development increased during this period but non-renewable energy use reduced life expectancy at birth. Unidirectional causal associations of the studied variables with life expectancy at birth are also revealed. CONCLUSIONS: All the outcomes are relevant and useful for articulating an innovative policy in the health sector. The prime policy implication of this work is: the effective, efficient, and inclusive policies considering globalization, renewable and non-renewable energy consumption, information and communication technology, financial development, education rate, and economic growth should be formulated and executed for guaranteeing health status.

Risk spread in multiple energy markets: Extreme volatility spillover network analysis before and during the COVID-19 pandemic

Financial events in global energy markets could trigger extreme volatility spillovers and even become financial crises without effective risk management. To analyze extreme volatility spillovers in energy markets and demonstrate how risks are spread under extreme market conditions, this paper first measures the extreme volatility spillovers in the main energy markets from 2011 to 2019 using the vine Copula model then constructs the extreme volatility spillover networks based on their tail dependence correlations. Furthermore, the extreme risk spread is investigated by applying clique analysis. In consideration of the recent shock namely the COVID-19 pandemic, we further analyze the energy markets' extreme volatility spillovers in 2020. We find that extreme volatility spillover effects are stronger in renewable energy markets, especially during market booms and it also reflects an asymmetry feature of the energy markets’ extreme volatility spillovers. The water energy market is influential in the extreme volatility spillover networks. More significantly, there are strong volatility spillover effects among renewable energy markets, while risks are less likely to spread among non-renewable energy markets under extreme circumstances. We make contributions to reveal the volatility spillover under extreme conditions, then comprehensively analyze the risk spread in the extreme volatility spillover networks. By comparing how risks spread before and during the COVID-19, and between renewable and non-renewable energy markets, our findings could be of great help for policymakers and other stakeholders to cope with the uncertainties, especially in the extreme environment.

A Safe and Efficient Mining Method with Reasonable Stress Release and Surface Ecological Protection

Coal is an important basic energy source, widely distributed throughout the world, but resource abundance is uneven. Despite the need to develop and form new energy sources, coal energy maintains its dominant position. However, due to the uneven distribution and non-renewable nature of coal resources, the relationship between the supply and demand of coal resources is tight. The rational exploitation of coal and reducing resource mining wastes are particularly important at the present stage. The original mining method of the Zhangjiamao coal mine resulted in a large waste of coal resources. After replacing the “110 construction method”, the original advanced end-support was canceled, which saved a lot of process time and engineering costs and greatly improved the mine production efficiency. With an average mining depth of +300 m, the working face is in a safe and stable state, and the 110-mining process has little impact on surface subsidence. Its successful application provides a reference experience for other mines to promote resource-saving and efficient mining.